Research on the electrospun foaming process to fabricate three‐dimensional tissue engineering scaffolds

Abstract

ABSTRACTThree‐dimensional (3D) tissue engineering scaffolds were fabricated by an electrospun foaming process. A two‐dimensional (2D) membrane was fabricated first by the electrospinning technology, and then a sodium borohydride gas foaming process was used to expand the 2D membrane to a 3D tissue engineering scaffold. The effects of six process parameters on the foamed height of 3D scaffolds were systematically studied during fabrication using a L27(313) orthogonal design table. The mechanism of the gas foaming process was investigated by a porosity analysis and a scanning electron microscopy analysis of the scaffolds' surface and cross‐sectional morphology. Finally, wettability experiments and L929 fibroblast adhesion and proliferation experiments were carried out on the 3D scaffolds. The results showed that the concentration of polycaprolactone (PCL) has the most significant effect on height, and the optimal process parameters were 8 wt % PCL solution, 15 kV voltage, 4 mL h−1 flow rate, 20 cm distance, 60 min spinning time, and 5 g sodium borohydride. The 2D membrane with a smaller fiber diameter and higher porosity was more easily foamed. The fabricated 3D scaffold had good wettability, and cell absorbance (OD value) increased by 25.34% on day 7 over that of the 2D electrospun nanofibrous scaffold. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46898.